Serious problem: A disk read error occurred

sreedhav said:

Dear James Colbert,
I could/did connect the Extn.HDD to the lappy via usb and the transfer of the backed up data is on!
The "IDEA" of chilling the lappy worked! I did'nt have the tools nor the expertise to unscrew the grooves on the underside of the lappy and time was of prime importance as YOU SO RIGHTLY POINTED OUT! So,trusting my instincts, i placed the laptop in the DEEP FREEZE for 20 minutes and removed it from there.

I, then transferred it to my air-conditioned den with the AC in full blast and all this hardware Black-magic must have brought the failing HD out of the Intensive Care Unit!What say?
Thanks a bunch,

will keep you posted.
DR.Sreedhav.

Glad you got it straightend out, sreedhav! :).

I should tell you, though, that placing the laptop in the freezer may not be the best idea, as condensation may play havoc with the machine. Safer to remove the drive, wrap it in a towel, place in ziplock and in freezer. Thanks for posting bakc to let us know, and post back if further issues.

Good Luck!
James

James Colbert said:

First, do not use the laptop for any purpose unless it is an attempt to recover the data, as further activity may make the data unrecoverable (if it isn't already)!

You would need an adapter to connect bad drive to another computer. Here are several:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=3770&name=USB%20Hard%20Drive%20Adapter

Macgyvr states it won't void the warranty, but if you wish to try it, do contact Acer to verify, as if they disagree, your drive will not be covered.

You would remove the drive, attach the adapter to the connector on the back of the drive and plug the other end into a USB port on another computer. If Windows recognizes the drive, autoplay will pop up, allowing you to choose 'Open folder to view files'.

Alright. Do you think that this adapter is compatible with my harddrive?

http://content.gucca.dk/spil-covers/...berg_60019.jpg

Here are the specifications of the adapter:

* Compatible with 2.5" and 3.5" IDE and SATA drives
* Supports ATA/ATAPI-6 Spec 1.0, SATA I and SATA II
* Plug and Play, no drivers needed
* Supports USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
* Connectors on adapter: 1 x SATA, 1 x IDE for 2.5" hard disks, 1 x IDE for 3.5" hard disks
* Cable on adapter: 0.5 metres with 2 x USB A male connectors for data & power
* 1 Sandberg USB All-In-1 Hard Disk Link
* 1 230V power supply
* 1 Power cable for power supply w/Euro connector
* 1 Power cable for power supply w/UK connector
* 1 SATA connection cable
* 1 Power adapter for SATA hard drive
* 1 Power adapter for 2.5" IDE hard drive
* 2 User guides
* 1 Warranty card

My hard drive is a 2.5" Toshiba MK6465GSX.

James Colbert said:

A 'Live' CD is simply a bootable CD that will boot up to the Ubuntu (Linux) operating system rather than using the system drive to boot into windows. Often, Linux will see a drive when windows won't.

First, you should check in the bios again to see of the HD shows up. If it's not being detected in the bios, then the Linux route is pointless, as is likely all else. If it does appear in the bios, you may be able to recover it in the Linux environment.

Rather than guide you through the entire process now, your best bet would be to visit the link posted above (ubuntu). There are step by step instructions as to how to download it, burn it to CD and boot up to it. Then you can post back here.

Be advised that niether of these methods guarantee that you will be able to recover.

So, to reiterate, your choices are:

Remove HD:

1) Buy a notebook HD to USB adapter cable
2) Remove your problem HD from the laptop (after calling Acer to verify if warranty will void or not). Your manual should have instructions on how to remove it. Basically there is a removable panel in the back (usually one or two screws)
3) Connect the adapter cable bewteen the drive and another computer
4) When (if) Autoplay opens, choose 'Open folder to view files'
5) Copy files to a different drive, either external, or internal to the machine you have the notebook HD connected to.

Use Ubuntu CD to attempt to recover files to external drive:

1) Follow instructions at Download | Ubuntu to download, burn CD and boot up to Ubuntu.

Once booted to Ubuntu, there will be a 'bar' at the top of the screen. You will check to see if your drive shows up in the 'Places" item.

Of course, we are getting ahead of ourselves here, and this response is already much too long.

If you have someone local who can help you through this process, it would be a good idea to call them. If not, we are more than happy to guide you through whichever process you think you would feel most comfortable with.


James

Great post! Thanks for all the advice! I really appreciate it :)

I think I will try to buy the adapter first, and then see if I can transfer all the files to an external hard drive. Hopefully it will work, and if it does, I will see if I can get Acer to fix my laptop.

I will make sure to make an update on how the proceedings goes along.

Jay10:

Do you think that this adapter is compatible with my harddrive?

http://content.gucca.dk/spil-covers/...berg_60019.jpg

Here are the specifications of the adapter:

* Compatible with 2.5" and 3.5" IDE and SATA drives
* Supports ATA/ATAPI-6 Spec 1.0, SATA I and SATA II
* Plug and Play, no drivers needed
* Supports USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
* Connectors on adapter: 1 x SATA, 1 x IDE for 2.5" hard disks, 1 x IDE for 3.5" hard disks
* Cable on adapter: 0.5 metres with 2 x USB A male connectors for data & power
* 1 Sandberg USB All-In-1 Hard Disk Link
* 1 230V power supply
* 1 Power cable for power supply w/Euro connector
* 1 Power cable for power supply w/UK connector
* 1 SATA connection cable
* 1 Power adapter for SATA hard drive
* 1 Power adapter for 2.5" IDE hard drive
* 2 User guides
* 1 Warranty card

Yes, this should be compatible with your drive (as highlighted in blue), but just make sure that the voltages and power adapters are what you need for your location. And, although it's likely that you have USB2 ports on the machine you'll be using to attempt the copy to, it's still worth mentioning.

Again, be sure to check with Acer before you remove the drive for any possible warranty issues.

If you are still unable to copy, you can place the drive back in the laptop and try the Linux method. Ultimately, both methods may fail, but worth the effort, and you will have learned a lot.

James

To make things even simpler here is what i suggest :

1) Use a LIVE CD to boot up your system from it and then easily recover the data. My personal choice would be BART PE LIVE CD (Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD). Just goto their website and they will tell you how to create the LIVE CD.

2) If you are running out of luck and your CDROM drive fails to work for some reason , then use a BOOTABLE USB FLASH DRIVE to boot up the system. The Flash Drive can be loaded with a bootable copy of the easiest LINUX distro i have seen . It is called SLAX (Slax: get slax) , the site contains all the info on how to get this done.

sreedhav said:

Dear James Colbert,

...I then ran the long generic test and the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics from WD and it was all"PASS"! I then did the CHKDSK /F & CHKDSK /R and no bad blocks (or re-allocated sectors) were found. Healed??

I have learned my lesson and the 1 TB WD Extn.HDD is winging it's way home.
Gratefully yours DR.Sreedhav, (Smileys aren't working,pl. imagine a grin of gratitude!)

your QUOTE " First, do not use the laptop for any purpose unless it is an attempt to recover the data, as further activity may make the data unrecoverable (if it isn't already)!" UNQUOTE! I have been using the laptop normally for the last two days normally and as of now no probs.

Glad things worked out for you, sreedhav. Hopefully, you'll have no more issues (it sounds like your problems were file system related and that chkdsk corrected them).

Glad to hear that you use imaging programs:

Serious problem: A disk read error occurred

I use Acronis TI and it has not only 'saved my bacon' on multiple occasions, but allows me to try different softwares and configs without worry. For my System and Data partitions, I keep 3 rotating backups of each, all stored on my 'Acronis' partition.

Many here swear by Macrium and it is constantly recommended, so you have made an excellent choice.

Good luck!

James

The 'plastic tab and chrome 'edged guard' in the 1st and 2nd images is actually there as a 'pull device' method. You would pull upward and outward in the direction of the pull tab. You can likely get it out anyway. Just pull up the end of the drive that had the chrome bracket/plasctic tab and pull outward toward the left, as your posted images appear (i.e., if the tab iwas on your left, you pull the drive up and out to the left). It is 'attached' to the HD connector on the right (again, as looking at your images).

Worth saying in case: you haven't done so, make sure the machine is unplugged and battery removed!

James

Be sure to install the chrome bracket and plastic tab onto the new drive.

Also, your images are huge and off site, taking a long time to load. Here is a link to directions on how to create and post screenshots:

Use of snipping tool:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...e-screen-shots

Posting screenshots in forum:

Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums